Wallaby Photos

The fauna of Australia consists of a huge variety of animals; some 83% of mammals, 89% of reptiles, 90% of fish and insects
and 93% of amphibians that inhabit the continent are endemic to Australia. This high level of endemism can be attributed
to the continent's long geographic isolation, tectonic stability, and the effects of an unusual pattern of climate change
on the soil and flora over geological time. A unique feature of Australia's fauna is the relative scarcity of native placental
mammals. Consequently the marsupials—a group of mammals that raise their young in a pouch, including the macropods, possums and
dasyuromorphs—occupy many of the ecological niches placental animals occupy elsewhere in the world. Australia is home to two
of the 5 known extant species of monotremes and has numerous venomous species, which include the Platypus, spiders, scorpions,
octopus, jellyfish, molluscs, stonefish, and stingrays. Uniquely, Australia has more venomous than non-venomous species of snakes.
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